Indira Chakravarty

Indira Chakravarty is an Indian public health specialist, scholar, environmentalist,^[1] and 2014 recipient of the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award by the Government of India, for her contributions to the fields of public health and environment.^[2]

Chakravarty is from West Bengal and secured a doctoral degree (PhD) in Biochemistry from Calcutta University,^[4] followed by a second doctoral degree (DSc).^[1][5] She is active in the food safety and hygiene industry of India and globally, and has participated in 30 research projects.^[6] She has also been involved with two projects of the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Summit for Children and the Hunger Project.^[1]

Some of the studies conducted by Chakravarty, such as one conducted on the street vendors of Calcutta, have led to policy changes and new initiatives by the Indian Government.^[7] A Global Council member of the International Museum of Women (IMOW),^[1] Chakravarty has held many positions of importance such as:

• Chief Advisor – Public Health Engineering Department, Government of West Bengal^[5][8][9]
• Member – National Drinking Water and Sanitation Council, Government of India^[5]
• Board Member – International Institute of Global Health, United Nations University^[1][5][6]
• Former Member – Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, Government of India^[1][5]
• Former Regional Director, South Asia – Micronutrient Initiative – International Development Research Centre (IDRC)^[1][5]
• Former Director and Dean – All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Government of India^[1][5]
• Former Director – Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Government of India^[1][5]
• Former Regional Advisor Nutrition(Act) – Regional Office for South East Asia, World Health Organization^[1][5]
• Regional Coordinator – Asian Regional Centre on Street Foods – Food and Agriculture Organization^[1]
• Honorary Scientific Advisor – Foundation for Community Support and Development (FCSD)^[1][4]
• Consultant – World Summit for Children – World Health Organization^[1]

Chakravarty is credited as the author of one book^[10] and over 250 articles, and has been published in national forums and international journals.^{[1][3][7][8][9]}

• Indira Chakravarty (1972). Saga of Indian Food A Historical and Cultural Survey. Sterling Publishers. p. 183. ASIN B0000CQ98Q.
• Indira Chakravarty, R K Sinha (2002). "Prevalence of micronutrient deficiency based on results obtained from the national pilot program on control of micronutrient malnutrition". Nutr. Rev. 6 (5): 553–558.

Chakravarty was awarded the Padhma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions in the fields of public health and environment.^[2]

The Food and Agriculture Organization awarded the first Edourdo Souma Award to Chakravarty.^[6] She is also a recipient of the Indira Gandhi National Priyadarshini Award of the All India National Unity Council (AINUC)^[6] and the Global Leadership Award of the University of South Florida, the highest international honour of the university.^[7] She has also featured in The Multimedia Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World.^[4] The Government of India recognized her services by including her in the 2014 Republic Day honours.^[2]

• Micronutrient Initiative
• World Summit for Children
• International Museum of Women

• Indira Chakravarty (1972). Saga of Indian Food A Historical and Cultural Survey. Sterling Publishers. p. 183. ASIN B0000CQ98Q.
• Indira Chakravarty, R K Sinha (2002). "Prevalence of micronutrient deficiency based on results obtained from the national pilot program on control of micronutrient malnutrition". Nutr. Rev. 6 (5): 553–558.